English
Pembrey Criterium
Pembrey Motor racing circuit is a bit of a trek from Newport as it is in West Wales but is well worth the trip as the circuit is fun and makes for some exciting racing. The weather was dry and warm which made for some fast racing being able to hit the corners at full speed.
The race started fast and I soon found myself in a six man break that worked well and eventually lapped the field of remaining riders. Towards the end of the race there were plenty of attacks to try and stay away for a solo victory. I managed to win one of the primes and attacked with 4 laps to go and managed to time trail my way to a solo victory.
George Greaves Memorial Road Race
With this race being fairly local I was confident in the fact that I have got a good chance of winning the race. The morning before the race there was heavy rain but by the time I arrived and the event head quarters the sun was shining and the roads were drying up.
The race started with some immediate attacks that seemed to never be a threat as the speed of the peleton was fast and the wind was making life hard for the escapees. On a steep short climb 2 riders attacked and I shortly made an effort to join them, once I had made the gap another rider joined us leaving the 4 of us to push the pace. We all shared the work well but never seemed to get a big enough gap and were shortly caught again.
With the pace of the peleton still high and with all the riders lined out chasing down numerous attacks I decided to have another go and managed to get in a group of 6 riders with a good gap on the peleton. This was the decisive break and we all worked well together gaining over a minutes gap. I managed to win two out of the three primes at the top of the main climb and felt strong doing so. The gap towards the end of the race was dangerously low and the bunch were in sight at one point but we pushed on regardless. The decision paid off and we managed to stay away until the end. Two riders attacked and stayed away I attacked in the last kilometre and dragged another rider with me, I was unsuccessful in catching the two escapees and the rider who was sat on came around me with 100 metres to go. So I finished 4th and won two primes but was a little bit disappointed as I thought I should have had the win.
Pembrey Criterium
It was a fortnight since I had won the race previously and was full of confidence to do the same again. It was a very windy night and some of the riders were hiding in the bunch to miss the headwind sections of the course. I decided to attack as I knew the bunch would not work well together and was away with two other riders who I know really well. We worked well together and shared out the primes and eventually had a massive gap on the rest of the riders. We all worked hard until the last lap and it came down to a three man sprint which I clearly won, so was very happy with that result.
Ben